16-day expedition on Taklimakan Desert 'edge-locking' project ends

Recently, the research expedition on the "edge-locking" project around the Taklimakan Desert has concluded successfully, according to China Media Group. This expedition aimed to analyze the actual effects and potential issues of the "edge-locking" project.

The research team conducted a 16-day on-site inspection along the 3,046-kilometer edge of the desert. They collected data to help build a key technical system for efficient forest and grass belts, and improve desert control.

Researchers from institutions like Xinjiang Academy of Forestry and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, participated in the project. They recorded and analyzed the use of various technologies such as engineering sand control and photovoltaic sand control at the Ruoqiang County project site, gathering first-hand data.

"The team conducted in-depth research on various techniques applied in the 'edge-locking' project, including engineering, biological and photovoltaic sand control methods, and explored the social and environmental factors involved. This provides data for assessing the project's effectiveness and lays a foundation for the project's next phase," said Zhang Huifang, a researcher at the Modern Forestry Research Institute under Xinjiang Academy of Forestry.

The team also inspected the implementation of flood irrigation projects. Moreover, regarding the placement of grass grid sand barriers, the team emphasized the need to continue exploring suitable spacing.

As China's largest and the world's second-largest shifting sand desert, Taklimakan poses severe ecological threats due to its mobility and frequent sandstorms. On November 28, 2024, with the planting of rose seedlings in the last desert "edge-locking" gap area in Yutian County, the green sand-blocking protective belt around the entire 3,046-kilometer edge of the Taklimakan Desert was fully completed.

(Cover via VCG)